x Mangave plant named ‘Snow Leopard’

ABSTRACT

A new and unique X  Mangave  plant named ‘Snow Leopard’ characterized by long arching succulent foliage with deep-green centers and variegated yellowish-cream to creamy-white margins and frosty green region between the margin and center. The leaves develop reddish to greyed-purple spotting and tinting under high ultraviolet light. Growth rate is moderate to rapid and the new plant has good natural pup production. The green flowers on tall stiff scapes are loaded with nectar are highly attractive to hummingbirds.

Botanical classification: Hybrid; Manfreda times Agave, known as x Mangave.

Variety denomination: ‘Snow Leopard’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(B)(6)

The first non-enabling disclosure of the claimed plant, in the form of a private sale, was made by Walters Gardens, Inc. on Mar. 12, 3018 to Plant Delights Nursery, Inc. Plants for this sale were obtained from the inventor. Since then, on Feb. 14, 2019, the plant was first advertised on a website managed by Walters Gardens, Inc. No plants of x Mangave ‘Snow Leopard’ have been sold, in this country or anywhere in the world, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made, more than one year prior the filing date of this application, and such sale or disclosure within one year was either derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the new and distinct x Mangave hybrid plant, x Mangave ‘Snow Leopard’ that was discovered by the inventor at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA on Mar. 23, 2015 as a whole plant mutation in a tissue culture propagated batch of x Mangave ‘Jaguar’ (not patented). Through trials at the same nursery the plant was assigned the breeder code 15-SP-MAN-389. The new plant has been successfully asexually propagated first by removal of offsets and later by sterile shoot-tip tissue culture at the same nursery in Zeeland, Mich.. The asexual tissue culture propagation has been found to produce stable and identical plants that maintain all the unique characteristics of the original plant.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

x Mangave ‘Snow Leopard’ differs from its parents as well as all other Manfreda, Agave and x Mangave known to the applicant. The mutation parent, ‘Jaguar’ has flexible arching foliage that has an olive-green color with greyed-purple spotting and without the near white leaf margins. Other similar cultivars include: ‘Kaleidoscope’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 28,614, ‘Carnival’ copending U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 16/501,028 and ‘Navajo Princess’ U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 16/350,481. ‘Kaleidoscope’ has a creamy-yellow margin, more greyed-purple spotting and more orangish-red blush when grown in high ultraviolet light. ‘Carnival’ has the lighter creamy-yellow in the center of the leaf and the dark green along the margins. ‘Navajo Princess’ has foliage that is more oblanceolate and broader with larger marginal teeth and the leaf centers are lighter green colored and rarely offsets pups compared to the new plant.

The new plant, ‘Snow Leopard’, is unique from all of the above cultivars and all Agave, x Mangave and Manfreda known to the inventor by the following combined traits:

-   -   1. Medium mound of lanceolate to gladiate, semi-fleshy, foliage         small flexible marginal teeth and flexible apex;     -   2. Leaves have creamy white margins with irregular frosty green         zone between margin and deep-green center;     -   3. Foliage has reddish to greyed-purple spots an regions         receiving strong ultraviolet light;     -   4. Foliage upright to outright;     -   5. Leaves flat when young and becoming slightly cupped in         maturity;     -   6. Moderate to vigorous growth rate and good natural pup         production.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The photographs of x Mangave ‘Snow Leopard’ demonstrates the overall appearance of the new plant including the unique traits as a three-year-old plant grown in a container in a full-sun outdoor garden in Zeeland, Mich. with supplemental water and fertilizer as needed. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Ambient light spectrum, temperature, source and direction may cause the appearance of minor variation in color.

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a plant.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the foliage with small marginal teeth, creamy-white margins, dark green center and intermediate zone.

FIG. 3 shows a plant with natural pups grown in higher ultraviolet light for the summer season.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2015 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used. The new plant, x Mangave ‘Snow Leopard’, has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype. The following observations and size descriptions are of a three-year-old plant in a commercial wholesale greenhouse and in a full-sun trial garden in Zeeland, Mich. with supplemental water and fertilizer as needed.

-   Propagation: By sterile shoot-tip tissue culture and removal of     offsets; -   Time to initiate roots from tissue culture: About 21 days; -   Growth rate: Moderate to rapid; -   Crop time: About 14 to 18 weeks to finish in a 3.8 liter container     from a 35 mm tissue culture growing at about 21° C.; -   Rooting habit: Fleshy, lightly branching, with roots up to 25 cm     long; -   Root color: Nearest RHS 158C; -   Plant shape and habit: Succulent herbaceous perennial with basal     rosettes of leaves radially emerging and arching from central     rhizome, producing a symmetrical rounded mound; -   Plant size: Foliage height about 40.0 cm tall from soil line to the     top of the leaves and about 78.0 cm wide at the widest point at soil     line; -   Foliage description: Linear to lanceolate; simple, fleshy, glabrous;     margins finely dentate with flexible teeth; apex narrowly acute,     flexible; base truncate, sessile, clasping; adaxial and abaxial     surface lustrous; -   Number of leaves: About 60 per plant; -   Leaf blades: Finely dentate; to about 46.0 cm long, about 50.0 mm     wide at base and 4.0 mm thick, average about 42.5 cm long, 46.0 mm     wide and 4.0 mm thick; usually bi-laterally symmetrical; glabrous     and glaucous above and below; variegated with wide creamy white     margin about 9.0 cm wide near middle; with intermediate lighter     green zone between margin and center on older leaves of about 4.0 mm     wide at widest point and irregular speckles of between about 1.0     diameter to about 3.0 mm across and about 6.0 mm long; -   Foliage fragrance: None observed; -   Leaf blade color:     -   -   Adaxial (young) center.—Between RHS NN137A and RHS 139A.         -   Adaxial (young) margin.—Nearest RHS 8C.         -   Adaxial (young) intermediate.—Nearest RHS 94B.         -   Abaxial (young) center.—Nearest RHS 146A.         -   Abaxial (young) margin.—Nearest RHS 8C.         -   Abaxial (young) intermediate.—Nearest RHS 94B.         -   Adaxial (mature) center.—Nearest RHS 139A.         -   Adaxial (mature) margin.—Nearest RHS 158C to RHS NN155A.         -   Adaxial (mature) intermediate zone.—Between RHS 189A and RHS             189B.         -   Abaxial (mature) center.—Blend between RHS 137A and RHS             139A.         -   Abaxial (mature) margin.—Between RHS NN137A and RHS 139A.         -   Abaxial (mature) intermediate zone.—Between RHS 191B and RHS             191C.         -   Spots and marginal tinting in regions of high ultraviolet             light exposure.—On abaxial and adaxial margins nearest RHS             53B, on abaxial and adaxial centers nearest RHS N187A to RHS             187B. -   Mucro: Absent; -   Petiole: Sessile; -   Veins: Parallel; not distinct; -   Peduncle: Terete; glaucous; glabrous; stiff; strong; with cauline     leaves nearly adpressed along surface; about 260 cm long and 2.0 cm     diameter at base; attitude upwards, erect; -   Peduncle color: With glaucous bloom nearest RHS N138A, without     glaucous bloom nearest RHS 139A; -   Pedicel: Terete; glaucous; glabrous; stiff; strong; about 1.7 cm     long and 2.5 mm diameter; -   Pedicel color: Nearest RHS 138A; -   Cauline leaves: About 29 per scape; gladiate to lanceolate; simple,     fleshy, glabrous; margins finely dentate with flexible teeth; apex     acute with mucro; base truncate, sessile, clasping; proximally about     32.5 cm long and about 1.5 cm wide at base, decreasing distally;     color adaxial and abaxial same as basal leaves; -   Buds one day prior to opening: Elongated globose; terminal bulb     about 2.6 cm long and about 1.0 cm across; proximal tube about 2.4     cm long and 6.0 mm across; overall about 5.0 cm long; -   Bud color: Nearest RHS 138A; -   Flower description: Perfect, actinomorphic; about 11.0 cm long and     opening to about 5.0 cm across at outside of anthers; lasting about     3 to 4 days per flower; flowering period about three weeks in late     winter in Michigan greenhouse; producing abundant nectar;     approximately 75 flowers per scape; attitude mostly upright; -   Flower fragrance: Faintly sweet; -   Tepals: Six; glaucous abaxial; glabrous both adaxial and abaxial;     acute apex and fused base; in two sets of three; outer set about 2.8     cm long and about 5.0 mm wide at base; inner set about 2.8 cm long     and 4.0 mm wide at base; inner set creased along edge where     overlapped with outer set while in bud; -   Tepal color: Outer set adaxial nearest RHS 146B, abaxial nearest RHS     N138C with glaucous bloom and nearest RHS 138A with glaucous bloom     removed; inner set adaxial nearest RHS 146A and margin between RHS     146A and RHS 144A, and abaxial nearest RHS N138C with glaucous bloom     and nearest RHS 138A without glaucous bloom and nearest RHS 144A     along creased margin; -   Androecium: Six;     -   -   Filaments.—Six; stiff and straight; about 7.0 cm long and             2.0 mm diameter at base; color between RHS 145C and RHS 160C             with dense speckling of nearest RHS 182A.         -   Anther.—Dorsifixed; longitudinal; about 2.2 cm long and 1.0             mm diameter before opening; after dehiscence curving             backward; color nearest RHS 165A.         -   Pollen.—Abundant; color nearest RHS 18A. -   Gynoecium: Single;     -   -   Style.—5.5 cm long and 2.0 mm diameter at base; color blend             between RHS 145C and RHS 160C with dense speckling of RHS             184A.         -   Stigma.—Globose, apex tri-lobed; about 2.5 mm tall and 3.0             mm across top; color side and top between RHS 177A and RHS             187A; top stigmatic surface in tri-pointed star with color             nearest RHS 194B.         -   Ovary.—Inferior. -   Fruit: Dehiscent, tri-valved, loculicidal capsule; apex abruptly     acute; base slightly tapered; about 3.5 cm long and 1.7 cm across; -   Fruit color: When immature nearest RHS N138A; at dehiscence blend     between RHS 199C and RHS 161B; -   Seed: Flattened, near round; about 5.0 mm across and about 1.0 mm     thick; color nearest RHS 202A; -   Disease resistance: X Mangave ‘Snow Leopard’ has not been observed     to be resistant to diseases common to other X Mangave beyond that     which is normal for Agave or Manfreda. The plant is xeromorphic and     survives well with minimal water once established. Hardiness at     least from USDA zone 8 to 11. Full extent of winter hardiness has     not been tested. 

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of ornamental X Mangave plant named ‘Snow Leopard’ as herein described and illustrated, suitable as a potted plant or for the garden. 